


Space (The only thing I have of you)

by GloryBox



Category: Mad Max Series (Movies)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, Mentions of Infant Death, and super lowkey Illiterate!Furiosa, super lowkey imortal!Max
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-26
Updated: 2016-11-26
Packaged: 2018-08-31 05:03:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8565109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GloryBox/pseuds/GloryBox
Summary: Linear snippets of life in a reformed Citadel.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I originally wrote this around the 1 year anniversary of Mad Max coming out but got stuck...so here I am....six months later...finally posting. If some parts feel rushed or forced...it's because I wrote 90% six months ago and decided one night, this night, that I was finally going to finish it by linking everything together. I just couldn't have it sit in my draft any longer.

" Lying back in the soft hay, I folded my hands behind my head, closed my eyes, and let my mind wander back over the two long years. I thought of the fishermen, the blackberry patches, and the huckleberry hills. I thought of the prayer I had said when I asked God to help me get two hound pups. I knew He had surely helped, for He had given me the heart, courage, and determination. "  Capable read aloud from Where the Red Fern Grows , sitting in the middle of the Sister’s beds, all pushed together.  Furiosa sat on the workbench across from the Vault, her back to them, as she often did when Capable read.  

“I wonder who said he was a god back then?”  Toast asked, munching on some nuts cupped in her palm.  

“Probably some other old smegging man.”  The Dag answered, biting off a hangnail.  

“Maybe the old world god was nice.”  Cheedo mumbled quietly.  Capable nodded to that and the girls quieted until Capable read a little bit more then finished up.  

Furiosa got up and left for her room, nodding a goodnight and Capable blew out the lamp so they were in the dark.  

 

 

Furiosa spent the next day in the garages, working on a new Rig when a gangly young war boy ran up to her.  

“Imperator-”

“Don’t call me that.”  She said flatly, still elbow deep in the engine.  

“-Furiosa, we intercepted a car on the border, man inside doesn’t talk much, but he said you know him.”

At that Furiosa looked up and followed the war boy to where the car had been driven to the lift.  And next to it stood the Fool, returning over 300 days since he left.  A smile tugged at her lips as she strode over to him, without hesitation cupped the back of his head and brought his forehead to hers.  

He stiffened at first but then relaxed, blinking so she could see his long eyelashes flutter and hesitantly cupped the back of her head.  She closed her eyes and smiled.  

“Fool.”  She said, eyes still closed and he hummed in agreement.  They broke apart and she surveyed him.  His hair was a little longer but still stuck up, the cowlick in the back especially prominent.  His cheeks were a little sunk in, the bags under his eyes darker than she remembered from before, and there was a recent cut on his cheek, the red bright against his weathered skin.  He needed to trim his beard, and he was absolutely filthy but overall recognizable.

“C’mon, let’s get you some food.”  She said and he followed her into the depths of the Citadel and she led him to the mess hall.  As she walked she made a mental list of what she was going to need to do, rearranging her day with the Fool in mind.  

She’d need to tell the Sister’s he was back, they’d want to see him.  She would need to show Max around after he ate, then she’d need to go back to the repair bay, with or without him.  She checked back behind her to make sure Max was keeping up.  He kept on peering down halls and tunnels with a cautious, haunted look in his eyes.  She quickened her pace.  

It was mid morning so the mess hall was mostly empty and with less people around, the cooks were more generous, especially to her.  They loaded up their trays with a thick stew and a few slices of an orange fruit, called, unoriginally, an orange.  

They sat at one of the long tables, almost empty except for a garden worker at the end.  They ate in silence, Max was desperately trying to restrain himself from just inhaling his food, hands shaking a little as he lifted the spoon to his lips.  

Furiosa watched as he carefully ate the orange slices, clearly savoring the taste.  He caught her watching and she smirked and pushed her orange slices towards him.  After he finished up, Furiosa was still picking at her stew and she casually asked “So where have you been Fool?”  

He shrugged.  

“Anything good out there?”  She asked, perhaps a little coolly as she lifted the spoon to her lips.  His eyes shifted to hers and he shook his head and she nodded, looking away.  

“You look like you could use a bath.  I’ll show you around, but I have get back to the garages.  C’mon.”  She said, standing up.  He looked up at her and followed her to where they dumped their trays and then up the stairs.  She lead him to the upper levels and showed him to a room near hers and a few rooms away from the Vault.  

“There’s a communal shower down the end of the hall, there’s probably scissors there too.  If you need me I’ll be down in the garages.”  She said and started to the door but stopped and turned back around, resting her human hand on the door frame.  Max was still in the middle of the room, looking dirty and awkward in the small neat room.  “The Sister’s will be glad to see you, Capable was worried for days after you left.  Though you just went and passed out in a sand dune.”  She said, a ghost of a smile on her lips.  

Max puffed air out his nose and smiled back.  Or at least tried, what he really did was that sad grimace thing were it looked like he was trying to smile but couldn’t remember how.  

Furiosa ducked her head and quietly said “Thank you.”  He froze.  “...For what you did.  Thank you.”  She said and Max’s eyes darted around the room, looking anywhere but her.  

“S’not a problem.”  He mumbled.  She smirked pushed off the door frame.  

“Get clean, rest, and we’ll meet you for dinner later.”  She said, flashing a smile as she turned around to walk off.  She missed the small, real smile on Max’s lips as she turned away.   

   

 

 

When she revisited Max’s room in the evening, he wasn’t there.  She had cleaned up from the garages, and told Capable, who she knew would pass it down that line, that Max was back.  She heard giggles from the Vault and cautiously approached and peered in.  

Apparently they had already fetched Max, who was sitting in a circle with them, a huge bowl of greens in the middle, brought up by Dag no doubt.  Capable whipped around and waved at Furiosa.  

“Come sit!”  She said excitedly.  Capable was in her glory, surrounded by her favorite people in the most domestic setting they had ever been exposed to.  She loved it.  Furiosa went to sit across from Max but Cheedo scooched over from his side and the whole circle shifted so that there was only room next to Max.  He was oblivious though, listening to Toast’s lively story from about a month ago about her first trip to Gas Town.  

Furiosa eased down next to him, then shot the girls a look that only got her bright, innocent smiles in return.  

Max didn’t say much for the rest of the evening, listening to stories and answering questions by either nodding or shaking his head, occasionally giving short answers. The girls were delighted though and Furiosa found herself trying to snatch glances at him.  He had cleaned up, trimmed his beard down, took a whack at his hair, which remained chaotic and untamable, like Max.  

As the evening winded down Max’s eyelids began to droop and his exhaustion became visible so they quietly wrapped up, and her and Max shuffled out of the Vault.  

“Night.”  She said softly as he stopped at his door and it was his turn to stop, turn to her and quietly say “Thank you.”  

She smiled and nodded and went back to her room, laid in the dark and stared at the ceiling.   Her human hand rested over her heart to feel the beat, suddenly very conscious of the blood that flowed through her veins.   

     

 

 

Max hadn’t expected to sleep, he actually hadn’t expected to stay the night, but the moment his head touched the pillow months of sleepless nights, long hard days and rough times all came to knock him out.  He was out like a light, and not only did he sleep good, he slept long , waking up mid morning the next day.  

He woke up massively disoriented, fighting the blanket, blinking blearily at the sun.  When he finally remembered where he was he was sitting up, panting.   Citadel.  Furiosa.  Wiv-Sisters.  Safe.  

He got up, body unusually soft from sleep, no kinks or sore spots.  It had to be the most comfortable place he had slept on in years.  He still had his boots on and scuffed his way to the exit.  He found that someone had brought up breakfast and left it by his door and his brow furrowed as he picked it up.  What an absurdly kind thing to do.  Some emotions bubbled up in his chest that he hadn’t felt in a long time that made him frown.  

He quickly ate his food and stepped into the hall and walked cautiously towards Furiosa's room, which was empty.  He paused, not sure what to do or where to go, so he decided to explore.

He wandered the upper levels of the Citadel, slowly, cautiously and quietly.  He walked by rooms, looking in curiously as he walked by.  He liked it, freely exploring a place that was once a fortress of horrors without the consequence of death or capture around the corner.  It was almost refreshing and he felt oddly content.  

 On the highest level he passed a room that made him pause and back up to look into again.  In the center of the room sat an real, old world piano, surrounded by other luxuries like pillows, sheets and other old world relics.  He looked around to see if anyone was around before cautiously stepping in, not taking his eyes off the piano.  The bench was pushed under the keyboard and he walked up and skimmed the keys with the tips of his fingers, nearly forgotten memories stirring in the back of his head.  

His brow came down in concentration as he tried to remember a song and carefully pressed down a key with his middle finger, followed by his index.  The sound was so familiar yet alien he grunted to himself.  He dug around in his brain, trying to shake the dust off his mother’s piano lessons and every ounce of concentration was focused into remembering how to play Twinke Twinkle Little Star.  He carefully pressed the keys, it took him a few tries until he had smoothed out the song and could play it all the way through without messing up.  

Finally pleased with himself he turned around to leave and was startled to see Capable standing in the doorway.  

He ducked his head shyly, mumbled something like a sorry and went to leave, cheeks heating up in embarrassment.  

“Max that was really good!”  She said falling into step next to him as he tried to escape.  “I only came by because most people that play it don’t actually know how to play any songs.”  She said quickly then paused.  “It was nice.  It reminded me of when Miss Giddy would play for us.”  

He paused, looking at her, no longer feeling quite as embarrassed.  She smiled suddenly.  

“You should hear the war boys try and figure it out.  One day three of them spent an entire afternoon just smashing the keys, Janie had to tell them to stop.”  

Max snorted and went to continue down the hall.    

“Do you read?”  She blurted suddenly.  He stopped, confused.  

“Huh?”  

“We have books!  We have lots of books!”  She said excitedly.  “C’mon!”  

Max hesitantly followed her down the hall, past a room he had passed earlier and she lead him to a large, overstuffed bookcase.

“See?”  She said.  He glanced at her then cautiously stepped forward, struggling to read the faded words on the dusty spines.  Capable pointed to a very large one that he suspected was an encyclopedia.  

“This one is Toast’s favorite.  It has pictures of all the old world animals.  Do you know what whales are?”  She asked.  His lips twitched and he nodded, suddenly amused.  

“They were so big…”  She murmured.  She pointed to a red book.  

“Cheedo likes this one.  It’s about love.”  

She pointed to what was once a blue book.  

“This is the Dag’s favorite, it’s about these kids that have wings.”  

He nodded.  

“I think Furiosa likes it too.  I don’t think she can read, but she likes to listen.”  

Max nodded, humming.  “What’s your favorite?”  He asked.  Capable smiled shyly then pointed to a black book.

“It’s about this girl and a plague hits her village and then the village quarantines itself to keep to keep it from spreading.”  She paused.  “It’s really good.”  

Max hummed, and picked out a random book and began to skim it.  When he looked up Capable was beaming at him.  

“Thank you.”  He said and she smiled.  

“Do you want to see the murals?”  She asked suddenly.  He paused then nodded.  She led him to a hall that he had passed earlier, the walls almost 10 feet high and halfway down they were covered in huge murals.  They were painted in mostly primary colors, blonde hair pure yellow, blue eyes pure blue, the background growing in green.  Skin tones varied, most of them a chalky white, though some darker tones appeared from time to time.  

“The Dag painted them.”  Capable explained, then her voice dropped to a whisper.  “Her baby died, it was born too early and still, so she buried her up in the gardens, but then she wouldn’t go up there for two months.  That’s when she painted these.”  

Across the hall the wall was open in various spots to the outside world, strung up pieces of broken glass and mirrors hung outside the windows, connected to vines and roots that grew over the top of the Citadel.  Light and little rainbows danced and glimmered on the paintings as the glass and mirror wind chimes swayed in the wind.

 It was...unearthly…

“She painted them with her hands, all those little details she did with her fingertips.”  Capable said, full of wonder.  Max slowly inspected each mural, slowly recognizing some of the figures.   

Angharad, Furiosa (With Immortan Joe’s head at her feet), Cheedo (her mural was in shades of pink and stood out from the rest), Toast, Capable and...himself.  

His mural was blurry, the background split in half, blood red and yellow blended into each other, the other half blue and green.  Upon closer inspection, he realized it was blurred because the painting was made up of little 8's instead of the lines and dots and washes that made up the other murals.  He suddenly felt uneasy.    

“There’s something creepy about them.”  Capable muttered next to him.  She squinted at her mural.  “I always see Nux’s face somewhere in here…”  She murmured as her finger skimmed the jungle behind her figure in the mural.  

He hummed in agreement, the endless loop of his life thrown back at him in his.  

 

 

He left in the evening, after dinner.   The Dag slipped a flower in one of the pockets in his jacket while Cheedo shyly said goodbye to him.  Toast looked disappointed and Capable hugged him.  Furiosa nodded, eyes cool and he left, eager to get the air back in his lungs.     

  

 

Many morning's after the Fool left for a second time, Cheedo was at the base of the Citadel in the little shanty town of former Retched.  A few people played makeshift drums with their hands, the cacophony upbeat and easy to dance too.  Cheedo smiled as she saw two pups trying to dance, flailing and jumping without any real coordination.  As she made her way through the crowd, a tall woman with familiar dirty blonde hair caught her eye as the blonde locks were about to be absorbed into the crowd.  Before she realized what she was doing Cheedo ran after the familiar head of hair, calling out a half aborted “Angharad!”  before she caught up to the woman, placing a hand on her elegant shoulder.  The woman whipped around, surprised and Cheedo jumped back, also surprised when she realized she had never seen this woman before.  

“Sorry...thought you were someone else.”  Cheedo muttered, walking away briskly, her cheeks heating up and her vision blurring as her eyes welled with tears.  

Cheedo walked and walked, not sure where she was going, not really paying attention, just pushing forward with her head down, her heart feeling cracked and bruised.  At some point she stopped and pressed her back against cool stone and slid down on her knees in a crumpled position, mouth quivering.  She looked up to Angharad’s mural with wet eyes and sniffled and rested her head against Angharad’s feet.  

 

 

 

62 Days Later

The second time the Fool returned, he was not alone.  

As soon as the lift brought his car up to the repair bay, Max stepped out quickly, hand pressed to his sternum.  Furiosa panicked, thinking he was hurt, but he strode over to her, face writ with worry and pulled his hand away to reveal a small white and tan ball of fur cupped in his hand.

“Need’s fluids, mother died.”  He said, his voice gravelly and rough from disuse.  Furiosa blinked, not prepared for the prospect of animal rescue being part of her day, but Toast jumped in.  

“Let’s take him up to the infirmary!”  Toast said and led Max towards the exit.  

 

 

Furiosa waited about ten minutes before curiosity got the best of her and she unwillingly dragged herself to the infirmary.  When they returned the the Citadel one of the first things they did was cut down the blood bag cages, though three were already dead.  Two survived, but left as soon as the chains were cut free.  Furiosa worried that they had died in the wasteland, but she’d never know.  

The Blood Shed harbored many nightmarish memories for everyone, including many war boys, so no one was upset when the moved the infirmary to another location.  But that didn’t mean it was any more appealing to go to.  She dragged her feet a little before turning into the large room, lined with metal tables and mismatched cots.  

Max was sitting on the edge of one of the beds, looking up as Cheedo held the now squirming ball of fur in her hands, a huge smile plastered across her face.  When she saw Furiosa she perked up.  

“Max brought a puppy!”  She said excitedly, holding the puppy like a baby.  

“Is it okay?”  Furiosa asked stepping towards Cheedo, peering curiously at the small animal in Cheedo’s arms.    

“Yea, he was dehydrated so we pumped some fluids in him and he’s good now, Toast is getting him some milk.  We'll have to keep him close until he's older though.”  

Furiosa allowed a small smile to pass her lips and glanced at Max.  He was grimy and covered in dust, the area around him on the bed coated in dirt that fell off his jacket.   He looked tired, weary even, which would explain why he was sitting down.   

“What about you?”  She asked and he looked up at her, surprised.  “Are you alright?”  He nodded the corners of his lips ticking up.   

 “You look tired.”  She said softly and his eyes flickered up to hers.  “You should rest.”  

He shook his head, clearing his throat.  

“Nah, M’good.”  

Furiosa made a disapproving face, ready to argue but Cheedo cut in.  

“Has he been up to the gardens?”  She asked, rocking the baby dog.  

Max shook his head.  

“Well, the Dag’s been asking for us to send someone up, I’m sure Max will do.”  

Furiosa almost smiled, because she knew the Dag wasn't asking for someone to _work_ in the gardens, they had a weightlist for that, but someone to keep her company, because all of her friends were always below.  

Max shrugged at Cheedo's suggestion and at the moment Toast reappeared with some milk in a bottle.  

“You will not believe where I had to go to find this.”  She said, waving around the rubber nipple.   Cheedo’s face scrunched up.  

“What is that?”  

“It’s a fake nipple.  Why would they even make these when,”  She gestured towards her chest.  “Hm?”

“Where did you find it?”  Cheedo asked as she took the bottle from Toast, inspecting it.  

“Well, first I had to go to Adina, but she said no one was going to nurse anything that had more than two legs, but she said she heard Mercy say something about bottles so I went to her.  But it wasn’t Mercy who had it, it was Effy, Mercy just heard about it.  So I go find Effy, who takes me into her bedroom, then opens up this side room, which was creepy and no one should ever have them because it was filled with doll heads,”  

Furiosa nudged Max, smirking at Toast's story, and he followed her out of the infirmary towards the green.

When they stepped out into the green Max’s mouth fell open.  Sun filtered through the canopy, dappled light dancing on the ground, a constant breeze brushing against their skin.  Furiosa smirked as Max wonderingly touched the nearest bush, gently rubbing a thick green leaf between the fingertips of his thumb and forefinger.  Furiosa showed him to a bench that had been up there since Joe’s regime and sat down, both enjoyed being surrounded by the lush green.  

“I come up here to sleep sometimes.”  She said softly to him.  “Under the open sky.”  

“It’s beautiful.”  He said, eyes still drinking in the green.  

“Yea, it is.”  She said after a pause, for some reason surprised that beautiful was a word Max would use.  

“Oi, what are you two doing here?”  An excited voice called out.  Furiosa and Max turned sharply to see the Dag step out of one of the many trails.  

“Cheedo said you wanted us to send someone up.”  Furiosa said, standing up easily, Max slowly easing up after her, she thought she heard a bone pop.

“So here’s Max.”

“You’re not staying?”  The Dag asked, frowning.  Furiosa shook her head.

“I still got work to do below.”  She said.  The Dag sighed and Furiosa smirked and went to walk past her but paused, clasping her shoulder.  

“Show him around?”  Furiosa asked quietly and the Dag nodded, a smile crossing her lips.  

After Furiosa disappeared Max stood there awkwardly until the Dag darted forward and grabbed the cuff of his jacket sleeve and tugged him along after her.  Surprised, he followed in that uneven gait of his, the brace creaking slightly.  When they reached the particular part of the garden she wanted to show him she crouched down, tugging him down by the sleeve again until he crouched next to her.  

“See?”  She asked, pointing to the plants in front of them.  Max nodded.  

“What kind?”  He asked.  

“Tomtoes I think”  

“Tomatoes.”  He corrected quietly.  

“Tomatoes?”  She asked skeptically.  

“Mhm.”  He confirmed.  

“Tomatoes.” She repeated quietly and then lead him around the rest of the garden, informing him of the names (some of which he suspected were made up but most seemed accurate) of all the plants.  

After a while they appeared out by the edge of the green, near the ledge of the of the huge rock itself.  Max stepped cautiously towards the edge, frowning deeply at the long drop down.  Dag started on a bridge that connected them to the adjacent rock and whipped around when he didn’t immediately follow like he had been.  

“You comin Fool?”  She asked.  He was still frowning and seemed uneasy but caught her noticing and silently started on the bridge.  He gripped the rope railing tightly, slowly following the Dag with strained, unwilling steps, like a rope was tugging him across the bridge after her.

The Dag stifled a giggle.  The idea that Max or Furiosa could be afraid of anything other than imminent death or capture hadn’t occurred to her and she wasn’t sure why she found it so funny.  Perhaps it was because the Fool had scared her so much when he first walked up from behind the rig, a muzzle on his face, sawed off shotgun in his hand and an unconscious war boy thrown at his feet.  The grunts and weird noises he made, like some kind of strange desert animal combined with the rumble of an engine.  He had been scary and she had been scared.  

But now Max looked….distressed.  She stifled another giggle at him, his white knuckle grip on the railing, the tension in his face as he looked up at her and she almost felt bad for him.    

“Almost there Smeg!”  She laughed over her shoulder after a strong gust of wind made the bridge sway and Max turned pale as a sheet.  When she reached the end she playfully stepped off the edge, Max following quickly behind her, breathing a little raggedly.  

“You okay Fool?  Not afraid of heights are ya?”  She asked in a sing-songy voice.  He shook his head, making a hnng sound.  

“What’s over here?”  He asked, wondering was it really necessary to cross the bridge?  

A toothy smile flittered across the Dag’s face and she grabbed his sleeve and tugged him after her.  He followed her to a little wood shack.  A wind chime with broken pieces of multicolored glass and pieces of metal hung off it, softly chiming a metallic ring.

He cautiously followed her inside, not sure why she had taken him there and she turned to him expectantly as he carefully surveyed the inside of the little shack.  Light randomly shot through the inside from holes and makeshift windows, some of the light rainbow from the glass on the wind chime outside.  A bed roll was on the ground, a basin and a bucket were on the ground and a few assorted baskets with odds and ends in them.  

“Do you...live here?”  He asked slowly, feeling pressured by her expectant gaze.  

“No, but I like to sleep up here sometimes.”  She shrugged, leading him to one of the baskets.  He peered closer and realized there was several small animal skulls inside.  

“See?”  She asked, showing him what appeared to be a bird skull.   

“You...collect these?”  He asked slowly.  She nodded, sifting around for another.  

“Cheedo and Capable thinks they’re creepy, Toast thinks they’re cool.”  The Dag pulled out a lizard skull.  “I think they’re exquisite.”  She said dreamily, holding the skull delicately between her thumb and middle finger, a streak of red light from the windchime shining on it.

 

      

Cheedo named the puppy Romeo, after a character in her favorite love story.  Max left again after a few days, leaving the puppy in Cheedo's care.  She didn't mind.  Not.  One Bit.

Cheedo had read about owning dogs, and she didn't like the idea of _owning_ a dog per say, but she did like the idea of companionship.  She nursed the puppy back to health, taking him with her everywhere, and letting him sleep curled up next to her at night.  

She took turns with Capable, who adored the puppy just like she did, looking after the once tiny, fragile dog as he grew into a lanky, energetic puppy.  Once he was big enough he began wondering around the Citadel freely, making a routine of stopping by in the garages, where the Blackthumbs and war boys would play with him and try (and fail) to teach him tricks.  Romeo usually climbed up to the gardens at some point (much to Dag's annoyance) to smell around and relieve himself around one particular area daily.  He'd visit the milking mother's who would briefly play with him, or the war pups who _loved_ him and they could play for hours.  But at the end of the day, he always wandered back to the Vault to sleep on the foot of Cheedo's bed.  

 

He'd climb up and lick her face when she or any of the other girls had nightmares.  One night after Romeo woke her up from a nightmare, Cheedo laid in bed, stroking his head while he watched her with perked ears.  The moonlight shined in his watery black eyes, deep depths of instinctual understanding.  

"I think Angharad would like you."  Cheedo whispered to him, then paused.  "I can't stop thinking about how happy she'd be if she were here now.  And that she never will be to see it."   The dog burrowed his head closer to her and she pet him until she drifted back asleep.  

 

 

"What's the point of having a dog if he can't help with anything?"  The Dag asked one evening, irritably playing tug-of-war with Romeo for one of her socks.  

"He doesn't have to be good at anything, we love him anyways."  Capable say, bending down to hug the puppy, which surprised him enough for the Dag to rip her sock out of his mouth.  

"He keeps peeing on my plants up in the gardens.  Tell me how much you love him when you eat piss potatoes."  The Dag retorted.  

"That won't stop anytime soon, male dogs like to piss on everything."  Janie said, breezing into the room. 

"Figures,"  The Dag said.  "Men always want to piss on everything for no good reason, don't they?"  

Janie chuckled and sat down, reaching out for the puppy who excitedly licked at her hand, before deciding to chew on her fingers.  

"Damn cute though."  She said, a near toothless smile gracing her weathered lips.  

 

 

"Max has been gone a while, hasn't he?"  Toast asked Furiosa one day in the garages.  The corners of her mouth pulled down, as Furiosa realized with a sinking feeling, that she was right.  It wasn't unusual that Max would take a while to meander back to the Citadel, but he had been gone a particularly long time, long for even him.  A feeling of dread latched onto her, and she shrugged and returned to the engine she was working on.  

 

 

 

"I hope he's okay."  Cheedo said, kissing the top of Romeo's head as she held him worriedly against her.  She turned to Furiosa with those wide, watery eyes.  "What if he never comes back?"  

Furiosa ignored the lump in her throat, because she hadn't stopped thinking about the possibility for days.  She couldn't stop wondering if he was dead, or hurt, or simply just late.  She couldn't stop wondering if he was okay, or if she was going to spend the rest of her days looking towards the horizon hoping to see the familiar silhouette of the Interceptor that would never come home again. 

 

 

Life pushed on, and with a heavy heart, so did Furiosa, pushing the intrusive thoughts of Max's possible demise out of her head.  

"You don't need to start mourning yet.  He's got no concept of time out in the Wastes, probably just lost track."  Janie said on afternoon after she caught Furiosa staring into the Waste's again.  

"Mhm."  Furiosa hummed grimly, convinced that mourning was the only step left to take.  

 

 

Max came back after 203 days.  Capable greeted him in the garages, throwing her arms around him, then berating him.  

"We thought you were dead!"  She snapped.  

"What took you so long?"  Toast joined in.  

"...uhm..."  

Capable shook her head.  

"It's fine.  You're here now.  I'll walk you to your room."  

She walked next to him and caught him up on the Citadel gossip he had missed in his 203 days in the wasteland.  

“She holds him like a baby, but she’s the only one that can do it.  If anyone else tries to hold him like that he squirms and tries to get away.  But with her he just lays there and looks around like a real baby.”  Capable told Max about Cheedo and the puppy.  He quietly asked, to her amusement, where Furiosa was.  Capable explained she was working underground, beneath the Citadel, and would meet them later.  

 When they arrived at his room he paused.  

“Can we, uh, have dinner in there?”  He asked, pointing towards the Vault. Capable’s eyebrows raised in surprised and she nodded.  

“Yeah, sure.”  She said, a small smile on her lips. 

 

 

 

 Furiosa was unimaginably relieved when a war boy told her Max was back.  Then she was unimaginably angry.  Who did he think he was, jerking her emotion's around like that? Making her think he was dead, only to show up after she spent months picturing every scenario of his death, how the sun would bleach his bones and she'd never be able to figure out his body from another.   

On angry autopilot she went to her room, washed up and went to the Vault, and like before, found it was already occupied.  The girls were sitting around chattering, the puppy was flopped in Cheedo's arms and Max sat where he sat the first time he came back, but with a large sack by his side.  

He looked up when she walked in, face seeming to brighten slightly.  She didn't smile back, her mouth pinched into a hard line.  

"Come sit Furiosa!"  Capable called and Furiosa made to sit across from him instead of next to him.  Looking troubled, he stood up and grabbed the sack.  

"Brought some gifts."  He muttered, no looking at any of them while he said so, missing the way the girls faces lit up. 

He distributed his gifts like a dusty, tired, somewhat non verbal Santa Claus, pulling items out of the sack.  Capable’s face brightened when he handed her two worn books, Cheedo got a music box where the mirror was broken but the little Ballerina still spun and played music.  Her mouth dropped in awe, mesmerized by it before jumping up and hugging him, giving him a peck on the cheek that made him turn red and grumble incoherently as he continued digging through the sack.

He handed Toast a butterfly knife, that he then got to show her how to use.  

“This is shine .”  She breathed.  

“Shine?  You’ve been hanging around to much with the war boys.”  Capable teased.  

Max kept on digging and pulled out a sack of seeds for the Dag.  

“Thanks Fool.”  She said dryly but he put up his index finger, indicating he wanted her to wait as he patted down the front pockets of his jacket until he found the correct one.  He gingerly pulled out a two headed lizard skull and handed to her.  Her face brightened in a way Furiosa hadn’t seen since she started working in the gardens.  

“Two heads?”  She asked excitedly.  He nodded, choosing not to elaborate on how he came to obtain the lizard.  “Hm, perhaps not such a fool after all.”  She said, a smile fighting its way to her face.  

 Last was Furiosa.  He nervously looked at her before reaching into the bag and pulling out a small blue box.  He cautiously handed it to her and she gingerly took it, eyeing him suspiciously.  He nodded at her, towards the box in her prosthetic hand and she carefully opened it.  

It was a box of small, delicate tools, made for small delicate tasks.  Like tinkering with her prosthetic.  She looked up at him, in slight awe, before shutting it down again.  She held the box out to him.  Looking hurt he slowly took it out of her hand, his blunt figures carefully avoiding her hand.  

"You don't need to bring gifts to come back. Be on time the next time you piss off in the Wastes."  She said curtly then spun on her heel and strode out of the Vault.  

 

 

Furiosa ate in her room, spoon scraping the bottom of her bowl.

 "That was mean you know."  The Dag said, leaning against her doorway, ignoring Furiosa's glare.  

"We were all worried sick about him.  He doesn't think about others-" Furiosa started to retort.  

"And he doesn't think of himself, or at least think of himself as a person that other's would care about.  Remember when he let us call him Fool for three days?"  

Furiosa side eyed the Dag.  She had a point...an annoying point...but a point.  

"I'm not saying you shouldn't be angry.  Just...go talk to him though.  He's up in the gardens, Capable brought him up.  We're all going up actually, one of the ex-breeder's put together a band with the survivors of the Doof wagon and she's singing tonight.   You should join us, I've heard her sing, she has a really pretty voice."  

 

 

 

Furiosa found him up in the gardens, as promised by the Dag, sitting on the bench she had shown him the last time.  She silently approached and sat down next to him, both looking ahead, both avoiding looking at each other.  

"I'm sorry,"  He said suddenly, looking down towards his feet.  "I didn't know you'd be...worried."  He said, still not looking at her.  Furiosa stared at her hands, her flesh and prosthetic in her lap, thinking over her response.  

“What do you look for out there?”  She asked finally, watching him out of the corner of her eye.  His head was bowed, she saw his brow furrow, his frown deepening.  “Do you think you’ll find it?”  

Max finally lifted his head, rubbing his hand over the scruff on his jaw.  Finally he shook his head, looking down again.  

“Was looking for home…”  He muttered quietly, like he didn’t want her to hear.  

“Is it out there?”  She asked.   He shook his head, watching the ground.  “Then why look for it if hope’s a mistake?”  She didn’t know if he’d appreciate or resent his words being thrown back at him, but she couldn’t help it.  He blew air out his nose, nodding in agreement.  

“That’s not true.”  She said after a pause.  “Hope isn’t a mistake.  But I don’t think you’re going find home out there.”  

“I know.”  He said, looking up and ahead, but still not at her.  

She couldn’t look at him either, favoring the tinkering of her arm when she said softly: “This is home.”  

He finally turned to her, watching her with those perpetually concerned eyes of his.  

“I know.”  

She snapped her head towards him.  

“Then why do you leave?”  She snapped probably a little harsher than she meant.  He looked down again, fiddling with a loose strand on his glove.  

“Not good at staying.”  He mumbled.  “Had a home.  Had to leave.  Can’t go back, can’t stay still.”  

Furiosa’s shoulders dropped and her gaze on him softened.

“But you’ll come back here?”  She asked gently, looking at him earnestly.  He looked up at her.  

“Always.”  

She smiled softly at him, just a faint tug of her lips and suddenly they were both staring at each other, Furiosa suddenly hyper aware of just how plush Max’s lips looked, and she was sure he was looking at her lips too.  The world around them seeming to fade out, the trees and bushes out of focus while Max was sharp and clear.  

He opened his mouth to say something but was cut off when an odd sound began tapping, like heavy rains hitting a window.  They both glanced at each other with perplexed expressions before getting up and following the sound.  They walked into a clearing and stopped in the tree line, taking in the sight before them side by side.  

A woman who Furiosa recognized as a secondary breeder stood in the center of a loose circle of listeners, singing with an unworldly, whispery voice.  Some pups and a few survivors of the Doof wagon beat sticks together, one had a drum and Coma gently played the lightest sounding guitar she had ever heard.  

A fire illuminated the band and the people sitting around them, an ethereal atmosphere cast by the firelight and the music.  

The Dag and Cheedo sat together, Cheedo resting her head on the Dags shoulder, the dog by her feet, further over Toast and Maggie sat together, joined by Capable and Jamie.  Furiosa’s heart swelled as the two remaining Vuvalini watched fondly as the girl sang, leaning into each other.  Two pups chased each other giggling frantically and everyone looked just so...content, some were even happy .  

There was so much pain, each of them had been through so much...but now it seemed everything was...okay.  Everything was alright.  Maybe they wouldn’t be tomorrow, but for this moment things seemed...good.  

She felt her eyes moisten and glanced at Max next to her, eyes transfixed though far away, lost in some memory of rainy mornings that the music reminded him of.  She felt warmth blossom in her chest and she looked ahead, her vision blurry.  

The song began to wind down and Furiosa brushed her flesh hand against Max’s, neither looking at each other.

“ I found another way…”

She slowly intertwined their fingers and he gently squeezed and together they stood watching the little piece of rehabilitated world they had helped heal.  

“ To caress my...day”

**Author's Note:**

> Title and song sang at the end is based off lyrics from the FKA Twigs song "Hide". I would highly suggest checking out the live version sung among Mayan Ruins as it is beautiful and peaceful and ultimately what inspired this entire fic. 
> 
> On another note, the puppy I was picturing was a Bull Terrier kind of dog.  
> The books Capable was referencing were as follows:  
> Cheedo's was Romeo and Juliet  
> Dags was Maximum Ride, my favorite book series from middle school  
> Capable's was Year of Wonders, which I never read but googled popular Australian books and that one seemed interesting
> 
> Thanks for reading, feedback would be appreciated!


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